The Amsale Salon

When I launched Amsale in 1985, I custom-made wedding dresses one at a time for brides out of my New York loft. I never even dreamed that one day I'd have a flagship salon on Madison Avenue. My favorite part of the job was working with each bride one-on-one in my home, creating a dress just for her. I loved the specialness of that experience between us.

These days, I'm so busy designing and running Amsale, I no longer meet with each bride. But I still want every woman to feel completely comfortable and cared for as she shops for her wedding dress. I find most luxury clothing stores to be either too over-the-top or overly austere. When I designed the Amsale Salon, I thought a lot about how to make the environment feel special, but also truly welcoming. I asked the interior designer who designed my apartment to design it—and its white walls, abundance of natural light, comfy sofas and personal touches ended up looking a lot like my home.

I'm just as passionate as ever that each bride should have a private, special and pleasurable experience at her appointment and fittings. She needs to feel at ease, relaxed, and inspired—I want her to enter the Salon and feel instantly at home. Today, when I have a chance to stop by in person, seeing a bride trying on my designs is still my favorite part of my job. It's exciting for both of us—maybe even more for me than for her!